Text: Understand the original Chedi Chang Siyue
Recently, according to CCTV news reports, Audi previously announced the restructuring of the Belgium plant, which has been suspended since early September, which also triggered demonstrations.
The scene of the demonstration, the picture comes from: CCTV news screenshot
It is understood that more than 10,000 demonstrators went to Luxembourg Square, the seat of the European Parliament. An employee of the Audi plant also said: "The manufacturing industry in Europe is disappearing, and the future of manufacturing must be secured." ”
The picture comes from: CCTV News screenshot
On July 10 this year, according to foreign media reports, the Volkswagen Group may close Audi's factory in Brussels and be forced to lower its profit margin target for this year. The reason for this is that demand for the Q8 e-tron has dropped significantly, and a person familiar with the matter revealed that Audi is considering an early termination of production of the Q8 e-tron and Q8 Sportback e-tron SUV models.
In 2023, the Brussels plant, which produces the two SUVs, produced about 50,000 vehicles and employed about 3,000 people. At the same time, the plant was facing long-term structural challenges, including high logistics costs and a difficult to optimize plant layout due to its proximity to the city center. As a result, there is a possibility that the plant will be closed.
Volkswagen noted that the cost of finding alternative uses or closing plants for the Brussels plant, as well as other unplanned expenditures, is expected to have an impact of up to 2.6 billion euros in fiscal 2024. As a result, Volkswagen lowered its operating margin forecast for this year to 7% from 7.5% previously. Additional costs are expected to reach 2.6 billion euros ($2.8 billion) this year.
Volkswagen Group
Philippe Houchois, an analyst at Jefferies, said in a note that the plant closure was "part of Volkswagen's ongoing cost efficiency and sizing program." This is "a possible indicator of the imminent restructuring of the European automotive industry as a whole in the coming years." ”